Scott Fujita

Of all the tumult to follow the National Football League in the past year — including a spate of domestic violence cases and questions about deflated footballs — nothing has roiled the country's most popular sport quite like the retirement of an unheralded San Francisco 49ers linebacker. Chris Borland wasn't a household name. That changed Monday when the 24-year-old walked away from a four-year $2.9-million contract because of concern about the long-term health risk of playing football. Within hours, Borland was transformed into a new face of a league that generates $9 billion in annual revenue and accounted for 45 of the 50 most-watched television shows last...

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Of all the tumult to follow the National Football League in the past year — including a spate of domestic violence cases and questions about deflated footballs — nothing has roiled the country's most popular sport quite like the retirement of an...